Nuns in Hong Kong taught me to sew underwear by hand when I was ten. Thanks to the U.S. State Department, I lived in Asia until I was 12. For my 13th birthday I begged my mother for a new dress, I was tired of my sisters' hand-me-downs. I have 7 sisters. Fortunately, I hated her sale-priced gift, and thus promptly enrolled in my first and only sewing class, offered by the YMCA. My second project landed me in the emergency room with a straight pin down my windpipe! Nevertheless, I was hooked and quickly began designing my own things. The path to HARK Designs however, has been circuitous.
I first worked with leather in New York while studying mime, raising my infant daughter Calliope, and working at Studio 54. I sold my first belts and handbags to SoHo boutiques and Bendel’s department store. In 1984, I moved to Asheville, North Carolina where my son Daniel was born. For eighteen years, I taught and performed around the country with my movement theater company SILENT PARTNERS. Our last performance was sold-out at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Of course, I designed and made all the costumes and the bags they lived in.
At 50, life changed as it does for so many of us. I returned to my handbag habit, launching HARK Designs. HARK bags have found their way into boutiques across the U.S. and Switzerland, and into the arms of notable shoppers including Paris Hilton. In 2008, I moved with my Swiss husband to Flawil, Switzerland, where I happily create in my atelier adjoining our home. I love being so close to all the Italian resources I have coveted for years. Every design is originally made by me, and personally road tested for function and durability. I have never carried a bag I did not make, and now I get to share my bags with you!